Display rack for books and the like



Aug. 29, 1939. c. A, GRANT 2,170,994

DISPLAY RACK FOR BOOKS AND THE LIKE Original Filed July 19, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiEi. l.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Aug. 29, 1939. c, A, GRANT 2,170,994

DISPLAY RACK FOR BOOKS AND THE LIKE Original Filed July 19, 1937 2,Sh'eets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR G v ATTORNEYS" Patented Aug. 29, 1939 7 2,170,994 DISPLAY RAGK FOR BOOKS AND THE LIKE Chester A. Grant, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor to Gaylord Brothers, Inc., Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application July 19, 1937, Serial No. 154,486. Divided and this application January UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 18, .1939, Serial No. 251,616

5 Claims.

This application is a division of my .copending application Serial No..154,486, filed -July 19, 1937 1 the authors name, will remain on the bookshelf in the library for months, and sometimes even years, without going into circulation or even being removed from the book shelf, when the book is displayed in the usual manner in sideby-side relation with other books on the book shelf, with the bound edge only presented to View. This is often true even though the book may actually be a very worthy and interesting work. In the development of the present invention, it has" been my aim to encourage and promote the circulation or sale of books and similar articles through the simple expedient -of providing a more attractive display of those books which might otherwise remain unnoticed if placed on a book shelf in the usual manner.

To this end, I have devised a simple and inexpensive display rack which is primarily adapted for use with a standard or conventional bookend, the rack being adapted to support the book or 'similar article with the front cover presented to view, or with the book in an open condition so that certain attractive or representative pages may be readily seen even by a casual observer.

The rack is preferably so constructed as to be readily attachable to and detachable from the bookend, in which latter case it may be used independently of the bookend.

Another object of the invention is to provide a display rack for books and the like, preferably formed from sheet metal and comprising a base and a bookrest or standard extending upwardly therefrom, with provision forreleasab1yQclamping the rack to a part of the bookend so that the rack will be stabilized by the bookend when so attached thereto. In the conventional bookend, there is usually a. part which extends laterally from the vertical Wall thereof beneath one or more of the books which are disposed next to the vertical wall as the latter serves its function to support the books in-a generally upright posi tion. Thus by attaching the display rack to the bookend, the weight of the books upon the laterally projecting part of the bookend may be advantageously availed of to stabilize the display rack and prevent accidental displacement of the latter from the book shelf.

In constructing the display rack from shee metal; the attaching means which serves to attach the. rack to the bookend may be conveniently and economically made an integral part of the rack as by folding over a portion of the base of the rack upon itself to provide opposed clamp- I ing parts having relative yieldable movement affording-a firm clamping or gripping pressure upon a portion of the bookend which is received therebetween. For convenience, the portion of the bookend to which the display rack is preferably clamped is that portion which usually extends laterally from the bottomof the bookend opposite to the part which is received beneath the books, and forms with the latter the base of the fbo'okend. Being relatively detachable or 'separable, both the bookend and the display rack may :be used independently of each other, or the "separation may be resorted to merely for purposes of economy of space in shipping orstoring the respective bookend and display rack units.

Other and further objects of the invention will be hereinafter described, and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claims.

In the drawings:- Figure l is a fragmentary view in perspective,

illustrating one practical application of my invention to the display of books on library shelves,

port another book in'a plane generally normal to the other books on the shelf;

Figure '2 is a perspective view of my new display rack alone, and illustrating a typical use thereof as an independent or self-sustaining display device for supporting'a book in either a closed or an open condition so as to exhibit a certain selected page or pages thereof, the book being shown in broken'linesin an open condition by way of example;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view,

taken approximately on the line 3-3 of Figure 1,

with the books and shelving omitted; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail View in'front elevation of the display rack alone. vLike reference characters designate correa vertical panel 5, adapted to be disposed atone side of the group of books 2 and arranged generally parallel to the face of the contiguous book. The base of the bookend 4 isformed by cutting out part of the panel and bending the same so as to provide an elongated horizontal tonguelike section 6, lying at one side of the panel 5 and adapted to be disposed beneath one or more,

preferably several, of the books 2. At the opposite side of the panel 5, there is provided a relatively short flange l, coextensiv-e'with the tongue-like part 6, and which together with the part 6 forms the base of the bookend 4.

My new display rack, generally designated R, is likewise composed of sheet metal, and includes a base 8 having its front edge bent upwardly, as at 9, forming a relatively short'flange. Disposed in rearwardly spaced relation to the flange 9 and preferably formed integrally with the ,base 8, is a panel-like standard l0, forming a bookrest which extends in a generally upward direction from the base. It will be observed that the member i0 is disposed somewhat forwardly of the rear extremity of the base 8, and is joined to the latter by a part II which overlies the rearward portion of the base 8. The purpose of this arrangement is to enable the base flange I of the book-end 4 to be grippingly received between the part I I and the base 8 of the display rack, so that the latter may be secured. to the bookend if desired and thus prevent accidental displacement thereof on the bookshelf. The display rack may be of any desired transverse width, but is,

preferably several inches wide to insure an adequate support for a book or other article to. be displayed in the manner of the book l2 shown in Figure 1 by way of one example. In this case, the book I2 is closed and is placed in the display rack so as to lie in a position generally transverse to the position of the book 2. As will be readily apparent from inspection of Figure 1, the lower part of the book l2 rests upon the base 8, and is received in the transversely arranged trough or channel formed by the flange 9 and the lower part of the backrest I0, with the front cover of the book presented to view. If desired, the backrest l0 ma be rearwardly inclined at any desired angle respecting the vertical, so as to more readily support the book l2 without the likelihood of the book falling 01f of the shelf or becoming ac cidentally, displaced. I

The front flange 9, base 8, backrest l0 and the interconnecting clamping member I I are all preferably formed in one piece, and may be economically constructed as a simple stamping.

The clamping member I I, which interconnects the base 8 proper with the backrest l0,'is folded over' the base 8, and extends forwardly from the folded edge I3 to a point preferably approximately midway between the front and rear edges of the base. By reason of the fact that the member 1H normally lies closely adjacent to the upper side of the base 8, a firm gripping action will be exerted upon the bookend flange I when the latter is inserted between the member I I and the base 8, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The inherent resiliency of the metal of which the rack is preferably made serves to produce this gripping action just referred to, yet allows the rack to be detached from the bookend when desired, as will be obvious.

- The distance between the inner face of the front flange 9 of the display rack,'at the bottom thereof, and the inner face of the rear fold I3, 01' in other words, the length of the base'8 from the front to back, is equal to or slightly greater than, the length of the bookend flange I, from the front edge to the back edge, so that the flange 1 may be received between the clamping member I l and the base .8 of the display rack, as will be best understood from reference to Figure 3.

I preferably mount upon the front flange 9 of the display rack a holder M for receiving title cards or other cards or strips bearing data pertaining to the book or other article which is put in the display rack for display. This holder l4 preferably comprises an elongated plate secured to the front face of the flange 9, as by means of the rivets l5, or otherwise. The upper and lower edges of the plate [4 are bent over, as at I6 and H, to provide grooves or channels l8 and I9 condition where it is desired todisplay a book 20,

or other article, in an open condition, although it is to be understood that the book need not be open unless this is preferred. The principal.

feature which is intended to be illustrated by Figure 2 is that the rack unit R is adapted for use independently of the bookend 4, or in other Words, a self-sustaining unit.

It willbeobserved that the rack unit Ris generally J-shaped in cross-section, as will be best seen from reference to Figure 3, and that the same forms a'transversely arranged channel or trough forwardly of the panel or backrest ID, the latter constituting an extension of the back of the channeland giving the same its general J- shape. 7

While the specific details have been herein shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto, as changes and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit there of as defined by the appended claims. v

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is i 1. Abook support for use on shelving and the like, comprising means for supporting a plurality of books arranged in side-by-side relation, said means including a base having 'a portion thereof adapted to be received under at least some of the books, and a substantially vertical member extending upwardly from and rigid with said base so. as to be disposed generally parallel to the or similar article in a position generally transverse to those supported by the vertical member of said first mentioned supporting means, said last mentioned means being stabilized and restrained against accidental displacement by the weight of the books on the base of the first mentioned supporting means.

2. The combination with a bookend including a substantially vertical wall and a horizontal base extending laterally at opposite sides of said wall so that the base portion at one side of the wall is receivable beneath a book, of a rack device comprising a base, a clamping member overlying at least a part of said base and adapted to receive the other base portion of the bookend between the same and the base of the rack device, and a backrest extending upwardly from the base of the rack device and arranged transversely respecting the rackbase so as to be disposed in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the wall of the bookend when the base of the latter is received between the clamping member and the base of the rack device, said rack device being stabilized and restrained against accidental displacement by the weight of the book on the base of the bookend.

3. The combination with a bookend including a substantially vertical wall and a horizontal base extending laterally at opposite sides of said wall sothat the base portion at one side of the wall is receivable beneath a book, of a rack device comprising a base, a clamping member overlying at least a part of said base and adapted to receive the other base portion of the bookend between the same and the base of the rack device, and a backrest extending upwardly from the base of the rack device at the forward end of the clamping member and arranged transversely respecting the rack base so as to be disposed in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the wall of the bookend when the base of the latter isreceived between the clamping member and the base of the rack device, said rack device being stabilized and restrained against accidental displacement by the weight of the book on the base of the bookend.

4. The combination with a bookend including a substantially vertical wall and a horizontal base extending laterally at opposite sides of said wall S that the base portion at one side of the wall is receivable beneath a book, of a rack device comprising a base, a clamping member overlying at least a par-t of said base and constituting. an integral continuation of the base and adapted to receive the other base portion of the bookend between the same and the base of the rack device, and a backrest extending upwardly from the base of the rack device and arranged transversely respecting the rack base so as to be disposed in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the wall of the bookend when the base of the latter is received between the clamping member and the base of the rack device, said rack device being stabilized anol restrained against accidental displacement by the weight of the book on the base of the bookend.

5. The combination with a bookend including a substantially vertical wall and a horizontal base extending laterally at opposite sides of said wall so that the base portion at one side of the wall l is receivable beneath a book, of a rack device comprising a base, a clamping member overlying at least a part of said base and adapted to receive the other base portion of the bookend between the same and the base of the rack device, and a backrest extending upwardly from the base of the rack device and arranged transversely respecting the rack base so as to be disposed in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the wall of the bookend when the base of the latter is received between the clamping member and the base of the rack device, and a wall extending transversely across the base of the rack device and upwardly therefrom in forwardly spaced relati-on to the backrest aforesaid, said rack device being stabilized and restrained against accidental displacement by the Weight of thebook on the base of the bookend.

- CHESTER A. GRANT. 

